Palestinian injured in East Jerusalem blast ouside PLO headquarters

A bomb exploded Monday outside the Orient House, the unofficial headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization in East Jerusalem, injuring a palestinian, Israeli police said.

The 40-year-old East Jerusalem resident suffered cuts in the head and legs when he touched a plastic bag containing the bomb, which was placed near a trash can some 30 meters outside the building, Israeli police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.

Ben-Ruby did not give the name of the injured, but said the Israeli police were investigating the incident.

Orient House has been described as a future government office of the Palestinian government in Arab East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as their future capital, Map reported.

Israel's government has accused the government of violating the Oslo accords by operating offices in East Jerusalem, but has stopped short of shutting down the Orient House to avoid possible violent confrontations.

Right-wing Israelis have repeatedly held protests outside the building, calling for its closure.

Israel has occupied Jerusalem since the 1967 Mideast War and declared the whole Jerusalem as its eternal and indivisible capital.

Under the autonomy accords, the status of Jerusalem is to be determined in the final status talks between Israel and the Palestinian govenrnment.